After more than a year of planning, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. has gone live with its rollout of its new loyalty program, Scene+. Customers can now collect points by using either a Scene+ card or a Scotiabank Scene+ Visa card.

“We are incredibly excited that Scene+ is now available at Home Hardware locations across the country,” said Kevin Macnab, president and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Ltd.

Canadians will earn 50 points for every $50 spent in a single in-store or online purchase at Home Hardware, when using their Scene + Loyalty card. And they will earn twice the points when paying with their Scotiabank Scene+ loyalty card. Every 1,000 Scene+ points can be redeemed for $10 off any purchase at Home Hardware stores or homehardware.ca.

Home Hardware joins a growing roster of retailers aligning themselves with Scene+, which started as a rewards program for Scotiabank customers to access free cinema tickets. Scene+ now boasts 13 million members across the country who access it through dozens of grocery stores, movie theatres, electronics stores, restaurants, play centres, pharmacies, banks, and travel companies.

Scene+ really took off at retail when grocery giant Empire Company Ltd. bought into Scene+ in June 2022. Soon after, it began rolling the program out to its stores, which include Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, IGA, and FreshCo, as well as liquor stores in western Canada.

In an exclusive interview with Hardlines, Michael Gawtrey, director of marketing, loyalty and CRM, pro and consumer at Home Hardware Stores shared some background on the deal and how it came together.

“We’ve seen the stores respond in amazing fashion. We've seen our stores set up in-store displays, they’ve posted on their social network… We’ve really seen our stores embracing Scene+ and that’s exciting for us to see.”

Home Hardware recognizes the value of a good loyalty program for its contractor customers. Will Scene+ fit into that scenario? “We are definitely thinking about our contractors. They are a very important customer base for Home, as you know. So contractors are part of our future loyalty strategy. Some of that has not been brought to market yet,” Gawtrey says, adding that more details will be available in the future.

However, he points out that Home’s existing Top Notch program for contractors is still in place. “Stores do have the option to award Scene+ points to their contractors. And each dealer does make that decision independently.”

Scene+ promises big data for Home Hardware Stores—plus sector exclusivity

Customer data is a big part of retailer loyalty programs, which is why Home Hardware’s adoption of Scene+ is such big news. But will the new rewards program enable Home Hardware to learn more about what their customers want?

“Yes, loyalty programs do offer retailers the opportunity to leverage that data to better serve their customers,” said Home Hardware’s Michael Gawtrey (shown here). “Home Hardware, like other retailers, definitely has plans to be able to use that data to better serve our customers. Whether that’s service offerings, or product assortments, it gives us an understanding of how our customers shop and what they purchase. It’s important for us as a business.”

In addition to its wide usage in grocery stores, Scene + is particularly strong in restaurants, where its partners include Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, East Side Mario’s, and Montana’s, among many others. In electronics, Scene+ has partnered with two powerhouses: Apple and Best Buy.

Other rewards programs have had the notoriety of being spread too thin. For example, TIMBER MART was an early adaptor of the Air Miles loyalty program and became its exclusive independent retail home improvement group in Canada. But Air Miles was also available in the Maritimes at Irving Oil gas stations. Irving’s own building supply division, Kent, eventually took on Air Miles as well, which cut into TIMBER MART’s segment exclusivity. In the early 1990s, RONA adopted the Air Miles program, but dropped it early in 2021. (TIMBER MART dealers continue to offer Air Miles to their customers.)

However, says Gawtrey, Home Hardware has a hold on the retail home improvement channel for its new points program. “Yes, we are the exclusive home improvement partner of Scene+. So you won't see a situation where there is ‘co-exclusivity’—as Air Miles called it.”

Retail leaders by region are mapped out in our new Market Share Report

Did you know that Quebec is the province with the most building centres in Canada? Or that Ontario has more hardware stores than Quebec and Alberta combined? Or that Prince Edward Island, despite its small size, has two home improvement big boxes—a Kent and a Home Depot?

These are just some of the facts that are revealed in the latest edition of the Hardlines Market Share Report, which is available now—and exclusive to Hardlines. This report details total sales by store format and individual banner in every province and territory. The store counts and sales volumes, and market shares of every key banner, are listed by province.

For example, TIMBER MART has an estimated 100 stores in British Columbia that represent slightly more than 10 percent of the market in that province by sales volume. It’s close behind Home Hardware, which accounts for more than 12 percent of the market through 108 stores there.

On the other side of the country, Kent is a familiar banner—and competitor—throughout the Maritimes. But despite its home-town advantage, it only holds second place for market share by sales in New Brunswick.

The Hardlines Market Share Report identifies each national retail banner, including RONA, Home Depot, Home Hardware, and Ace Hardware, plus the buying groups like Castle, TIMBER MART, Sexton Group, and Delroc.

But this important research also measures the sales and market shares of the regional players, such as Canac in Quebec, Windsor Plywood in British Columbia, McMunn & Yates in Manitoba, and Fries Tallman Lumber in Saskatchewan.

The Hardlines Market Share Report is now available for purchase. This important research features more than 80 slides in handy PowerPoint format. As a Premium Member-Subscriber, you save more than 20 percent on your order. And save more than 30 percent when you buy the Market Share Report bundled with its companion research, the Hardlines Retail Report. (Click here to order your Reports today!)

With its roots as a mail-order catalogue company since its inception 45 years ago, Lee Valley Tools has traditionally had a strong remote-order capacity. Now, the company is launching a new automatic picking system at its distribution facility in Ottawa.

The system goes live today. It is operational and being tested this week and by Sept. 18 the actual go-live system will be processing orders.

CEO Robin Lee says the new system has been in the works since Covid when Lee Valley recognized the critical importance of online sales. The system uses 42 automated shuttles to speed up order picking and sorting. But Lee sees it as much more than a cost-saving process. With the need for fewer people on the line, “that will let us raise wages for remaining staff and insulate us against the vagaries of casual labour.”

He notes that the ability to focus on higher wages will help Lee Valley maintain its competitive edge. “It allows people to focus on what they do best.”

While the new system will enhance Lee Valley’s ability to fulfill customer orders, the company is not completely insulated from the realities of the bricks-and-mortar marketplace. Its store in Saskatoon has been forced to close, the result of an eviction by a landlord that gave the company just two months to move out. “We closed that one two months ago and scrambled to find a new location,” Lee says.

A new store is being developed in the Lawson Heights Mall in Saskatoon. In the meantime, a pop-up store has been installed in the mall, until the actual store is up and running.

Paul Crawford is changing his role after 25 years as president of his national manufacturers’ agency, King Marketing, and relocating the company’s head office. Crawford will become CEO and continue to provide strategic direction, oversee key initiatives, and cultivate important industry relationships. Mark Travers, who has been King’s general manager for the past 10 years, is taking over as president. He will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company, executing strategic plans, and leading the company’s growth. Also at King Marketing, Stephanie Kainz has been promoted to vice president of sales. She brings over 17 years of experience in the company and will lead the sales team. Over the next few months, the company will transition its head office from Richmond, B.C., to its existing Mississauga, Ont., offices and warehouse.

DID YOU KNOW...?

… that the Hardlines Conference is only weeks away? It takes place Oct. 17 and 18, 2023, at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort in Whistler, B.C. The two-day program includes senior execs from Federated Co-op, RONA, and Groupe Gagnon, plus tech and data experts—and amazing networking! As a Premium Member who receives this newsletter every Monday, you can take advantage of a 20 percent discount on your conference registration. And we have special pricing for dealers. (Contact Michelle Porter at the Hardlines World Headquarters for those details!)

RETAILER NEWS

BMR Group has signed a Quebec home improvement retailer, Groupe Anctil, as its newest member. Founded by Joseph Anctil in 1935, the family business began with a general store and today is a major player in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, with stores in St-Denis-de-Brompton and Magog. The company also has a prefabricated wood-structure manufacturing plant in Magog and a water treatment company in Granby.

Montreal-based Stingray, a provider of in-store music and video content, has added Peavey Mart to its network. Up to now a provider of in-store content to pharmacies and groceries, Stingray said in a release that the addition of Peavey Mart expands its reach “to over 90 hardware store locations across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.”

A Castle dealer in Woodstock, Ont., celebrated the grand opening of its new store over the past weekend. The 10,000-square-foot store, with 4-acre lumberyard and double drive-through pick-up areas, is called Adams Building Supply. It’s really a relocation—and renaming—of the owners’ Allen Building Centre, in downtown Woodstock, to a new industrial and retail area a short drive away. Owners are Jamie Adams and Tasha Birtch, whose family has owned the business since 1963. They also own a building supply store in Shakespeare, Ont.

Also at Castle, Island Home & Garden in Gabriola, B.C., is returning to the group after stints with other banners. The business was founded just under a decade ago by Nick and Robin Hock. The Hocks have a second location in the pipeline in Cumberland, B.C., which they expect to open in the fall.

In anticipation of the pending Christmas holiday season, Hudson’s Bay will add Zellers in all its stores across the country on Sept. 22. Currently, there are 24 store-within-a-store format Zellers locations—with one more on the way at Bramalea City Centre on Sept. 27. Zellers also appears in pop-up form at 22 other locations. These sites, which were opened earlier this year, range in size from 1,000 to 2,800 square feet. With the installation of the latest pop ups, a total of 78 Hudson’s Bay stores in Canada will offer a Zellers location.

Gypsum Management & Supply reported that net earnings for the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year declined by 3.0 percent to $86.8 million, compared to $89.5 million a year earlier. Net sales grew by 3.7 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.36 billion in the comparable period of fiscal 2023.

For the first 52 weeks of its 53-week fiscal year ended August 27, Costco reported net sales of $232.95 billion, an increase of 4.6 percent from $222.70 billion during the similar period last year. Comp sales for its U.S. stores were up 3.3 percent while Canadian locations were up 1.8 percent. However, excluding the impacts from gasoline prices and foreign exchange, U.S. comps were up 4.2 percent and Canadian comps were up 8.0 percent. Costco has 861 stores, including 107 in Canada.

Ottawa is expanding its efforts to counter U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber. According to international trade minister Mary Ng, the government is challenging the tariffs both under the USMCA trade agreement’s dispute process and before the U.S. Court of International Trade. U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai says negotiations would be contingent on Canada’s abandonment of the stumpage fee system at the heart of the dispute.

The Canadian economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.2 percent in the second quarter, following growth in the first quarter of the year 2.6 percent. (StatCan)

New construction was off 8.2 percent in the second quarter, year-over-year. Renovation spending fell 4.3 percent in the quarter, compared to the same period last year. (StatCan)